A fork in the road
by ToniLOVESjolie
Summary: What happens when two childhood friends reconnect years later? It's four weeks until the wedding of the century and when Natalie's childhood friend comes into town it will forever change her life and her future. Jolie fic of course! Plus a little All my children thrown in, Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Hey Ya'll, so lets see if I can finish this one, well its atleast worth a try, no guarantees though. But enjoy anyways!

Chapter One

Staring into the mirror she chanted the mantra over and over again.. Deep breaths, take slow deep breaths.."suck it in Miss natalie, we are never going to get this dress ready in time if you keep fidgeting" the loud obnoxious voice of Marla the tailor yelled as Natalie was snapped back into reality as she stared at herself in the mirror.

She wore a white and lace Louie Vaton dress that landed at the floor with a swooping neck and back line, the dress was absolutely gorgeous, more then she could of ever dreampt of.

"You gained weight since last time we put this dress on you" marla continued to bark at her..

"Im barely eating marla, i assure you i didnt gain any weight" she huffed as the tailor pulled at the dress more and huffed under her breath..

Her name was Natalie Balsam, twenty five years old and finally after a three year relationship she was getting married, this should be a happy time for her, i mean hell she was having the wedding of the century thanks to her aunt and uncle who were paying for the whole shindig but standing here she felt everything but that. Nerves, just nerves she kept telling herself.

Any girl would be absolutely delighted to be getting married and to one of Lanviews hottest and wealthiest man to boot. JR Chandler, even the name seem to ring terror and jealousy onto those who heard it. He was the new up and coming thing, he had made fortunes 500's top people of the year and at only twenty seven years old that was a huge deal.

It was like a world win relationship, he had literally swept her off her feet and before her feet hit ground she honestly thought it was all a dream cause it seemed like one, like a fairy tale really.

Natalie had been born and raised in AC on the other side of the tracks so to speak. Her mother wasnt what one would call a good role model unless you consider drinking and gambling your life away good skills to give to your children. She had a hard life in AC and trying to work and go to school made things even harder, especially when she had a younger brother to look after. She had wanted to give up so many times and just throw the towel in cause life was just too cruel. She didnt have many friends and the ones she had she held close to her heart.

But even her childhood friends couldnt keep her in AC and when she got the opportunity to get out of that god awful town she jumped on it and headed to lanview where her Uncle, the one and only Clint Buchanan had offered her an internship at his company and a chance to start over in this world. So at the age of 18 she went and did it, she packed up her things and dragged her brother Rex along for the ride and now here she was nearly seven years later and not only assistant editor of the Buchanan Tribune but also four weeks shy of marrying the man of every girls dreams..

"we are going to have to start from scratch Miss Natalie" Marla huffed angrily as she threw her hands up in the air and began to dial her phone as Natalie sighed, she didnt know what the big deal was, to her the dress look perfect and it fit wonderfully as it was..

"Oh my god" the squeel of her best friend jolted her from her thoughts as she turned and saw Gigi standing there with her hand over her mouth.."My god you look beautiful" she said with a huge grin as she walked over..

"this dress is killing me, it has to weigh atleast fifty pounds" Natalie sighed as she walked over to her best friend of the last fifteen years or so..

"You know what they say, it hurts to be beautiful" Gigi grinned and then hugged Natalie quickly..

"do not mess up that dress Miss Morasko!" Marla barked as Gigi jumped back and then her and Natalie began to laugh..

"Im taking five" natalie said as marla looked like her head would explode.."i wont dirty it up, i promise" Natalie said as Marla gave her a disapproving glare..

"God she is a bit catty huh" Gigi smirked..

"You have no idea, i am so glad you came" Natalie said as the girls moved across the room and Marla watched natalie intently.."Ive been standing around for almost two hours" she sighed..

"Yikes" Gigi shook her head.."But the dress is kick ass" she grinned and now Natalie did too..

"i think marlas head would explode if she heard you refer to the dress as kick ass" natalie smirked..

"marla needs to take a valium or get laid" Gigi smiled..

"or both" natalie said as the girls laughed again..

"seriously JR is gonna die when he sees you in this dress" Gigi admired it some more..

"I just feels like its, i dunno, maybe a bit too much" Natalie said self consciously, she still wasnt use to this whole new life style, going from living in a crappy apartment in AC to this, it was mind blowing..

"You have worked hard for this natalie, you deserve this, all of it, dont you forget that" Gigi grinned..

"You remember when we use to just sit back behind Paul's pizza and drink beers" natalie reminised of their childhood in AC..

"yeah and now thanks to you were sipping on champange" Gigi smiled big..

"Oh please who is lanviews up and coming new fashionista" Natalie said with a grin..

"only thanks to you" Gigi smiled..

"hey you too worked hard for everything you got" Natalie reminded her friend..

"yeah well your the one who pushed me to do it and for that i am forever in your debt" Gigi bowed at her and natalie laughed..

"Oh stop it" natalie laughed some more.."But dont you ever miss the good ole days" she said seriously..

"Your kidding right? The smell of garbage trucks and sea water are definitely not something i miss" Gigi said sarcastically..

"Not just that" Natalie rolled her eyes.."You know just being us"

"Your losing me here Nat, you have an amazing life with an amazing man might i add" Gigi smiled..

"i know" natalie walked over to the large window that overlooked a large water fountain that had statues of baby angels around it.."it's just weird, thats all"

"weird? I say if this is weird then weird is good" Gigi laughed..

Natalie forced a smile.."Yeah your right, weird is good"

"weird is awesome, better then awesome" Gigi put her arm around natalie as they stood there.."and just think in four short weeks you will be Mrs. Natalie Chandler" she grinned and natalie swallowed hard..

"yeah, great" she felt her stomach tighten as she stood there, as much as she wanted to be happy, as much as she knew she should be happy, inside she felt well, empty.

"come on how about this" Gigi said as she got in front of her.."how about me and you head out for a girls night out, you could use some fun and so could i" Gigi smiled big..

"Oh i dont know, i have so much to do" natalie began as Gigi rolled her eyes..

"Im not taking no for an answer, we need this, just me and you" she grinned..

"well JR is out of town until tomorrow" natalie began..

"and more the reason for us to go out and live the night life" Gigi beamed..

"the night life?" Natalie said more to herself then to Gigi, she honestly hadnt been out anywhere unless it was some sort of outing with JR, and that was always business related and boring as hell at times. She never felt like she fit in with the other women there, they were all so well groomed and well a bit snotty to say the least.

"thats it, were doing it, im gonna come by and get you around eight so be ready" Gigi jumped up and down..

"fine fine but it cant be late, i still have some editing to do" Natalie began as Gigi rolled her eyes again..

"alright Miss workaholic" Gigi said sarcastically as she gave natalie another hug and then turned to leave.."eight, be ready were gonna show this town what they have been missing!" Gigi said loudly as Marla glared at her and Gigi smiled at her and then left as marla came over..

"Miss Morasko needs to learn manners, i do say i have no idea why you waste your time" Marla began as natalie looked at her..

"dont finish that sentence marla, my uncle wouldnt be happy to know that you pissed me off" natalie said quickly as Marla looked at her shocked.."so if you would like to keep your job" she raised an eyebrow at the older woman who seemed to sulk now..

"as you wish Miss Natalie" Marla said as she bit her tongue and Natalie walked back over to the mirror with her, god she just wanted this day to be over with and hell, she wanted to get out of that dress!

It had been forever since natalie had been out on the town, actually the last time she could even remember being out was when she had first met JR. They use to go out all the time back then, it seemed like every night was something new but then he began to get really busy with his company Chandler Enterprise and then his father passed away and it seemed he put all of himself into the company, so much so that natalie barely saw him anymore. If he wasnt away on some work thing then he was working late but she knew why, he had something to prove, it was hard being the new CEO of his late fathers business, he had to show that he could do the job and she was happy for him , he worked hard and he was a good man but she missed all the time they use to spend together.

Of course he would make it up each time he was away for awhile, he always came home with gifts for her, she had never had so much jewerly in her life and it wasnt some knock off either, it was the real deal, like the 5.6 carat diamond engagement ring on her finger that would pay for most peoples homes.

She fidgeted with it nervously now as she sat at a table in the night club her and Gigi had headed to, it was called Shelter and it was owned by aunt Blair Kramer. It was a trendy new night club that had live music and even a VIP room upstairs, it had really became the go to place in Lanview.

Natalie watched as Gigi danced her ass off, natalie had opted to have her drink first and Gigi was all to happy to go and dance, she looked so carefree up there, natalie envied her for that. Gigi could always become the life of the party wherever she went, even as kids she had the ability to do so, Natalie on the other hand was more of a sit back and watch life go by kind of girl..Oddly enough that was one of the things bothering her at this very moment..

Natalie finished off her Cosmo and got up to get another drink, Gigi continued to dance as natalie gave her a quick wave and headed to the bar. Shelter was extremley crowded as she made her way through, the place had really made a name for itself, as she got to the bar she waited for the bartender..

"well i'll be damned, if its not Red in the flesh" the sound of someone calling her by her old AC nick name made her spin around, she hadnt been called that in years and she was a bit shocked when she looked to see who was saying it.."Holy shit it is you red" the blue eyed man standing in front of her said as she blinked in shock..

"McBain...John mcBain" she said in shock as she looked at her old childhood friend standing before her now, she hadnt seen him since she had left AC in a hurry and boy did he change, not completely but she was shocked to see that he had not only lost all of his baby fat but he was gorgeous, like seriously gorgeous. His hair was still long like she remembered but more tamed now and instead of wearing an iron madien tshirt he was dressed in a suit and tie, talk about a shocker..

"in the flesh, how the hell are you girl, its been years" he said with a grin..

"yeah...wow...you look" she began with a shocked look stuck on her face..

"You look amazing, i mean wow" he said as she began to blush some..

Before she could respond Gigi came walking up.."everything ok Nat" she said with concern as natalie looked at her..

"Morasko you havent changed a bit" John said as Gigi looked at him and she seem to stand there in shock.."I see your still rocking the freaky hair colors" he smirked..

"John Mcfuckingbain!" she said loudly as she stood there..

"I would know that loud screechy voice from anywhere" another guy said as he strolled over, he couldnt be missed cause he was the tallest one there standing at nearly six five, both Natalie and Gigi gasped in unison..

"Holy crap steele!" Gigi said in shock..

"ah so you do remember me" Steele laughed deeply, natalie felt like she was in some sort of freaky dream, i mean seriously what were the odds of both of these two guys being in lanview of all places..

"Kind of hard to forget you big lug" Gigi said as she hugged him and natalie stood there a bit akwardly..

"this calls for shots, im buying" John said as he ordered a round of shots as the girls stood there nearly speechless..

"red and Morasko together, what are the odds" Steele laughed..

"small world" natalie said as she shook her head..

"what the hell are you guys doing in town" Gigi said as she looked at them..

"Could ask you the same thing" John began..

"we live here" Gigi answered before Natalie could..

"No shit, from the city to a small town, now that is definitely some crazy shit" Steele laughed.."cheers" he said as they all clinked their shot glasses and then downed them quickly..

They had all eventually moved to a large booth and sat down. It seemed as though the guys were in town on business, both working for the AC police department and following up on a case. It was still shocking to think that these two were cops, i mean hell back in the day they were the ones doing the law breaking.

They had spent more time in the AC police department then anyone and now they worked for it, talk about freaky..

"I cant believe that they actually hired you two" Gigi laughed as they all continued to drink..

"hey i take offense to that, we were just misunderstood back then" Steele grinned widely..

"Very misunderstood" John laughed.."and what about you two, what have you two misfits been up to"

"well your looking at the new assistant editor of the Buchanan Tribune" Gigi nudged Natalie as she blushed some..

"No shit, how the hell did you pull that off" John began with a shocked look.."not that you werent always the book worm back in the day"

"hey...i like to read" Natalie said with a nervous laugh..

"thats right you always did have a book in your hand" Steele smirked..

"well Gigi has her own clothing line" Natalie tried to get the attention off of herself..

"god help us all" Steele laughed..

"hey my clothes are pretty darn hot" Gigi poked Steele's big arm..

"You got my approval" Steele grinned and now Gigi flushed..

"so the buchanan tribune, thats a big paper" John said as Gigi and Steele began to flirt back and forth.."i thought they only hired family for that"

Natalie smiled nervously and Gigi spoke before she could.."yeah um thats cause she is"

Now both guys looked at her in shock.."Your related to the Buchanans?" they said in unison..

Natalie nervously laughed.."Oh dont be so coy nat" Gigi interjected.." her uncle is clint buchanan"

Natalie sipped her drink quickly, she didnt know why but she felt incredibly uncomfortable devulging any information, i mean she grew up with these guys and on the streets on AC.."its really not that big of a deal" she said quickly..

"Ok if you say so" John said with a smirk.."By the looks of that ring" he continued as natalie nervously fidgeted with it..

"Oh yeah and she is marrying JR Chandler" Gigi blurted out and natalie turned red..

"wow talk about taking a huge step up" John said in shock..

"I do believe we are sitting with royalty" Steele laughed and Natalie blushed more..

"Oh dont let the names fool you, she is still good ole Natty, aint that right" Gigi nudged her some and natalie quickly sipped more on her drink.."so what about you steele, married yet?" gigi asked as now Steele flushed some..

"do i look like i am ready to settle down" he grinned and Gigi smiled at him and playfully bit her lip..

"cool" Gigi smiled.."You wanna dance" she smiled at him..

"dance? Oh i dont" he began but Gigi was already getting up and dragging him along as natalie laughed a bit..

"looks like them two hit it off" John said as they watched them head onto the dance floor..

"yeah she's um great" natalie said quickly as John looked at her and then he smiled some as he shook his head, she swallowed hard as she looked at him..

"what? Do i have something on my face?" she said nervously as she touched her face..

"No i was just thinking" he began..."do you remember that summer they had the big bonfire party on the beach?" he asked as she felt her heart begin to race, my god how could she of forgotten about that, she had kissed him that night, a drunken kiss but a kiss no less..

"Oh god, i was really drunk that night" she said with embarassment, she really hoped he wasnt about to bring up the kiss, she thought she would never live that down, i mean she had such a crush on him back then and when the kiss happened, well needless to say that was about the last time she had ever talked to him, he seemed to avoid her after that, it was a horrible ordeal as a girl of 16..

"and i was a huge jerk" he began as she quickly looked at her hands.."I was going through a really awkward stage" he continued..

"yeah i think we all were" she said quickly wanting to change the subject.."so did you eventuallly tie the knot" she said as she looked at his hands, already knowing the answer..

"Nah, im not really into the whole commitment thing" he said as he sipped his beer..

"oh...well um" the air got uncomfortable..

"its fine though, i mean i like my life, its all good" he said uncomfortably as they both continued to drink their beverages..They both quickly looked out to the dance floor.."she sure likes to dance" he said as natalie glanced at him..

"You know Gigi, always the life of the party" she said with a lump in her throat, the sound of her phone ringing made her jump as she sat there and she glanced at it and saw it was JR.."I have to get this" she said quickly as she got up and headed outside where it was quiet to talk..

John watched her as she walked out and he downed the rest of his beer, his mind going back to an earlier time, a time when things were definitely alot easier then they were now..

The summer of 2004...

"I dont know what your waiting for dude, she has been looking at you all night" Steele nudged as John as they sat by the bonfire and drank back beers..

"No she hasnt" John said quickly as he looked at her and she smiled and then quickly looked away..

"bullshit,stop being a pussy and just go up to her" Steele laughed..

"thanks for the confidence booster" John rolled his eyes as he watched her get up and start to walk down the beach..

"Your gonna miss your chance" Steele said sarcastically and John downed the rest of his beer and finally got up. He was never really good with girls, not to mention he was really insecure with his looks. He had been watching Red for the better part of the year trying to get the nerve up to talk to her but the thought of rejection was just too hard to bear, especially for a boy of 16. He hadnt had a girlfriend yet and he hadnt even kissed one before, he was lacking in certain skill even though he played it off well enough to get a reputation of being a player. Really he was just an insecure shy boy who tried to fit in the best he could and now he was trailing behind the girl he had been pining over for the better part of a year, he hoped he didnt come off as pathetic..

He watched as she leaned down and picked up a shell from the ground and wiped the sand from it.."do you collect them" he hated how much of an idiot he sounded like even as he spoke and she jumped as she spun around, she looked shock to see him standing there..

"Oh um... not really" she said quietly, god she looked so beautiful standing there underneath the light of the moon, he was half tempted to touch her hair, it looked so incredibly soft.."do you?" she asked as she stood there but he didnt answer right away cause he was too lost in staring at her..

"Oh.." he finally said as he noticed her staring at him, waiting for a response.."um, not really" he said nervously..The air between them got uncomfortable as they both stood there..

"so um, i like your shirt...Iron Madien huh" she said quickly as he fidgeted some..

"yeah they are pretty cool, you like them?" he asked as his hands began to sweat..

"My brother listens to them" she began as she fidgeted with her hands..

"cool" he said with a nod of his head..

"yeah...cool" she said nervously.."so school is starting next week"

"yeah im not looking forward to that" he said honestly..

"me either" she smiled.."wanna walk" she asked..

"sure" he grinned as they began to walk down the beach..

"You scared her away already" the sound of Steele's voice snapped him from his thoughts as he looked up.."where'd she go?"

"oh...she uh, she got a phone call" John said quickly as Gigi came over..

"where's Nat" she asked..

"Phone" John said quickly..

"let me go find her, i'll be right back" she said with a grin as she took off in search of her friend..

John watched as Steele eyeballed Gigi with a grin on his face.."hey you got a bit of drool there buddy" he laughed..

"Man, i dont remember her being that hot" Steele said as he sat down.."and Red man, she definitely got out of that awkward stage" he smirked..

"of course you would notice" John rolled his eyes..

"Oh please like you didnt" Steele nudged him.."can you believe she is marrying that smug asshole" he continued..

"yeah well people change" John said as he stood up.."im gonna get another beer, want one" he said quickly as he began to walk away..

"were still good right" Steele said as John stopped..

"It's fine, dont worry about me i know what we have to do" John said as he walked to the bar to get another drink..

Natalie hung up the phone as she stood outside, JR was being his normal busy self and the conversation had only lasted a minute or so before he had another call coming in, she sighed as she stood there..

"I was wondering where you went, everything ok" Gigi asked as she came over to natalie..

"Yeah it was JR" Natalie began..

"Is everything ok with him" Gigi asked again..

"yeah...you know same old, same old" Natalie began as she shoved her phone in her pocket..

"I still cant believe we ran into the guys how weird is that" Gigi smiled..

"well you seem to be hitting it off with Steele" natalie said quickly..

"and what about you and John, didnt you have like a crush on him back in the day" Gigi smirked..Natalie flushed as she stood there.."looks like someone has been working out"

"yeah well were not 16 anymore" Natalie said dryly..

"yeah and he is hot, admit it" Gigi nudged her..

"Um im getting married remember" Natalie waved her hand in front of Gigi..

"and, i didnt say you wanted to fuck him" Gigi laughed.

"Gigi!" Natalie said in shock..

"what? Im just kidding" she laughed some more.."come on lets go back inside" she grabbed Natalie's arm..

"you know im actually tired, i think im just gonna head home" Natalie began nervously as Gigi sighed..

"You are totally not going to bail on me, are you" Gigi huffed..

"im not bailing im just" natalie began...

"yep your bailing" Gigi sighed..

"its just late and i have a busy day" Natalie began"but you should totally stay and catch up with them"

"i feel bad that your leaving though and you didnt even say goodbye"

"Im sure they wont mind plus i think Steele is probably wondering where you are, i saw the way you two were dancing" natalie smirked.."I dont need to give you a talk on safe sex do i"

Gigi rolled her eyes.."seriously nat i am not going to sleep with steele" she smiled.."Ok maybe i am" she laughed as natalie shook her head and leaned over and hugged her friend..

"just be safe about it" Natalie said as they hugged..

"I always am" Gigi smiled.."are you sure you want to leave"

"Positive, i still have editing to do" natalie said quickly..

"alright, alright...i'll call you tomorrow and tell you all the details" she grinned..

"yeah you can leave out the details" Natalie laughed.."have fun Gi" she said as she got to her car, part of her wanted to head back inside and talk to John some more but she knew that probably wasnt the best idea, no need rehashing the past, no good ever came from that and so she got to her car and left but her mind was on a nervous 16 year old boy with bright blue eyes..


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

By the next day at work Natalie tried to concentrate on her work, she had alot of editing to do but the idea that he was back in town was doing things to her. She almost felt like the world was playing a joke on her. Back when they were kids he had practically ran from her after that kiss, a kiss that had bothered her for way too long, the sound of a knock on her door snapped her from her thoughts..

"Maria i really dont have time right now i have too much to do" she said with aggravation, if her receptionist interupted her again she was going to blow a gasket..She sighed as she began to read the paper in front of her but yet another knock happened and she huffed now as she got up.."I swear maria, i need peace and quiet" she snapped as she got to the door and swung it open but a gasp left her mouth as she saw who was standing there.."John" the words squeaked out as she stood there completely speechless..

"Miss natalie i am so sorry, i told him that you didnt want any interuptions" Maria said as she ran over apologetically.."Do you want me to get security"

John shook his head and smirked as he looked at the small blond receptionist..

"No um" natalie began as she looked at Maria.."it's um...it's fine" she said nervously as maria looked at her with confusion..

"But you said" maria began..

"I said its fine maria" natalie said quickly as John walked into the office and Maria just stared at her and then natalie closed the door as John walked around the office, she couldnt believe he was there, why was he there?

"she's a little high strung, huh" he grinned..

"she just takes her job very um, seriously" she swallowed hard..

"its a nice office" he said as she nervously fidgeted..

"it's just an office" she said as she rubbed her hands together..He walked over to her desk and looked at the picture of her and JR.."so um, what brings you around" she finally said as he turned and faced her..

"You just left last night" he said as she nervously walked over to her desk and began to move papers around..

"I had alot of things to do" she lied as she kept moving papers around..

"im sure you do, its a big job being assistant editor" he said as she glanced at him..

"its a tough job but someone has to do it" she said with a nervous laugh..

He smiled a little and she hated that his smile did something to her body, he had a nice smile.."so whens the big day" he asked and she blinked a bit in shock..

"Im sorry, what" she swallowed hard, it was hard even concentrating with him standing there, he looked too good in that dark blue shirt that matched his eyes..

He glanced at the picture on her desk and then at her.."the wedding" he finally said..

"Oh um...four weeks" she forced a smile..

"sounds exciting" he said as he walked around the office some more..

"so um, your in town for a few days" she said quickly..

"yeah thats actually why i came by" he began as he walked to the water cooler on the other side of the room and poured himself a cup of water..

"Oh... umm...why" she hated that she sounded so meek and shy, what the hell was she doing..

"I dunno i just was wondering what this place had to offer, its definitely different then AC thats for sure" he said as he sipped the cup of water..

"it has its perks" she began as he raised an eyebrow..

"Now that sounds interesting" he grinned big and she stood there with a look on her face as he walked across the room.."maybe you could show me the perks of lanview" he said as she began to choke on her own spit and he walked over to her.."You ok?"

"yeah its just" she coughed some more.."Im sure you dont need me to show you around lanview" The room began to feel hot, very hot as she stood there..

"actually i was hoping you would" he said seriously..

"Im not a good person to do that" she said as she walked around her desk, god why did she feel like she needed space from him..

"whys that?" he seemed intrigued..

"I dont know, its just...im not really one for going out" she shrugged her shoulders..She couldnt believe that he was asking her to show him lanview, why her, why now?

"You were out last night" he raised his eyebrow..

"yeah that was kind of a fluke" she said with embarassment..

"Your telling me that you never go out? You are dating one of Pennsylvanias men of the year" he said and she blinked in surprise, how did he know that, he didnt really seem like someone to keep up with the papers in that way..

"well i go out i mean, but i dont like go out all the time" she began nervously..

"Listen i know it seems a bit weird for me to ask you but i just thought since i ran into you, and well you live here now" he said as he shook his head.."But i mean if your too busy" he finished off his cup of water..She didnt know why but she felt bad now as she stoood there.."I probably shouldnt of bothered you, your obviously busy" he said as he walked to the door..

She watched as he got to the door.."John, wait" she said quickly, her voice coming out higher then she would of liked..He stopped at the door but didnt turn and look at her.."I really wouldnt even know what to show you" she began as he turned now..

"for starters a regular bar would be nice, i mean im all for loud pricey clubs but im still a bar guy at heart, you know like the little hole in the walls that they have in AC" he began..

"there is a small little bar across town" she began, she couldnt believe she was even offering this, part of her was yelling at her to shut up, and shut up now, she knew JR wouldnt be pleased that she was pondering the idea of hanging out with an old friend, especially one that was a guy.

"now that is more like it, what do you say i come around 6ish and pick you up" he said quickly and she felt her heart race. There comes a time in everyones life that you have to make a choice between two paths, each path had its very own set of consequences and right now she was wishing she had paid more attention in her college studies because maybe she could of made the decision easier to choose.."come on it'll be fun, i'll even buy you a drink" he smirked..

"You dont have to do that" she blushed now..

"Ok well then you buy me a drink, i mean since you are an heir to the buchanan fortune" he smirked and now she laughed some..

"Im not an heir" she laughed..

"Close enough...so what do you say, 6ish?" he grinned..

"Ok...6ish" she said quickly as his smile got bigger..

"alright then" he opened the door as she stood there nervously.."it was really great seeing you Natalie, i look forward to later" he said as he left and she stood there completely in shock at herself, what the hell was she thinking? She couldnt help the wide grin on her face as she stood there, seriously it was just a drink, one drink, one harmless little drink..

"Miss natalie, everything ok?" the sound of marias voice snapped her from her thoughts as she looked up..

"yeah" she said quickly as she wiped the stupid grin from her face and went behind her desk..

"Mr Chandler is on line one" she said with a suspicious look..

"Oh..." Natalie tried not to act so guilty but she failed miserably.."thank you maria, that is all" she said quickly as Maria looked at her for a few more seconds and then left the room as Natalie sucked in a deep breath and then answered her phone.

John made his way outside and to his car, he began to dial his phone as he stared at the large building..

Steele answered.."please tell me you have some good news"

"its all going according to plan" John said as he got into his car..

"wow that was easy" Steele said in disbelief..

"did you seriously doubt me?" John faked a shocked voice.."i told you i got this"

"yeah well lets just hope it continues to go that way" Steele began.."Oh and by the way the evil one was looking for you" he laughed..

"you know it wouldnt kill you to call her by her name, its evangeline" John said sarcastically..

"oh trust me i could call her worse" he laughed.."seriously i told you this would happen if you slept with her, she is one crazy bitch"

"she's a friend, end of story" John sighed..

"yeah well maybe you should tell her that" he said quickly.."anywho i gotta run i have a lunch date with Gigi"

"do you really think that is a good idea" John said with concern..

"hey if your allowed to have fun then so am i" Steele said sarcastically..

"Im not having fun, im working" John said dryly..

"and where is work bringing you tonight? Hmmm.." he laughed..

"Just keep your head in the game alright" John said quickly..

"yeah thats what i thought, keep me posted" steele said and then they hung up, John looked at the building one last time before he drove off, he had a plan and he was sticking to the plan, this was however a job after all..

Natalie could barely work after her unexpected guest had showed up, she hated to admit it but she felt like a gitty school girl again not to mention her guilt was at an all time high. Why had she accepted to show him around town? She tried to down play it in her head as she sat at her desk and the overwhelming papers that laid on it..JR was gonna be home tonight..

_"how did the business trip go" she asked quickly.._

_"You know same old thing, boring mergers and what not, how are things on the homestead" he asked.._

_"Good, busy with work" she began.."I um ran into an old friend the other day"_

_"Oh yeah, well that sounds like fun" he said in a somewhat distracted voice, sometimes she really hated talking to him on the phone cause she knew he was most likely staring at his computer screen._

_"i was thinking about going out tomorrow" she began.._

_"sounds awesome" he began as another voice could be heard.."Listen babe i gotta run, Thomas is here with some paperwork for me but go out and have fun, i should be home by ten tonight" he said as she swallowed hard.._

_"alright well have fun" she said as the line went dead.."Yeah love you too" she said dryly as she looked at her phone and sighed as she put it away.._

The sound of her phone ringing made her jump as she sat lost in thought, she saw it was Gigi and she answered quickly..

"Oh my god i am so glad you answered, guess what i did today" Gigi said with excitement in her voice and it was rare to hear her this thrilled and natalie knew it could only mean one thing..

"Im sure i could think of a few things" Natalie said with a slight laugh..

"Last night was amazing" Gigi continued all gitty like.."You really should of stayed, i had forgotten how awesome Steele was"

"Maybe thats cause we were 16 years old" Natalie said a bit dryly..

"exactlly" she laughed.."but he has gotten even better with age, who would of thought" she sighed..

"wow you sound really" Natalie began, trying to find the right words to say..

"happy, estatic?" Gigi grinned..

"Yeah, something like that" Natalie began..

"and why do i feel a huge but coming on" Gigi sighed..

"what? Im just worried that your jumping in head first, i mean you dont even know how long they are staying in town" natalie said honestly, she didnt want to see Gigi get hurt by this guy..

"Nat you said it yourself that i needed to start opening myself up to the possibilities" Gigi said with a long sigh.."I mean you found an awesome guy, why cant i"

"Im not saying you cant Gi, im just saying be careful, thats all"

"You know i do remember a certain someone who didnt play it safe years ago and now look at you, your getting married in four weeks"

"so what do you want, to marry steele" Natalie laughed sarcastically..

"wow i think you sound jealous"

"what? Why would i be jealous, im happy for you Gi, im just worried thats all"

"You know you could of stayed last night"

"I had a bunch of things to do"

"Uh huh, sure you did"

"hey, its not easy working for the buchanan tribune" Natalie huffed..

"fine i will give you that one" Gigi said sarcastically..

"Just be careful, alright" Natalie said again..

"I always am and hey maybe we could double date or something" Gigi said with an excited voice..

"Double date? I dont really think JR would be too happy with me going on a date with John" she said quickly, maybe too quickly cause Gigi gasped loudly..

"what? I didnt mean you and John, i meant you and JR, where is your head at" Gigi said in shock and now Natalie wanted to hide her head in the sand, shit, busted!

"What, no... of course i was joking" natalie said with a fake laugh.."Hey would you look at the time, i gotta run, we'll talk soon" natalie said as she hung up before Gigi could say anything else.."shit" she said outloud as she stood there, she knew Gigi wasnt about to let her live this down..

John made his way into the motel room he was staying in, they had gotten seperate rooms right across from one another and he quickly picked up a file that was on the table, when he opened it a picture of JR fell onto the table and he looked at it. Seriously what were the odds that he would be working on a case to bring down JR Chandler for a multi million dollar Extortion case, he still remembered when he saw it just weeks prior and the shock of a life time that he got when he saw a familiar red head, one he never honestly thought he would lay eyes on again..

Six weeks prior..

_"Our latest entail shows us that Mitch lawrence recieved a very heafty donation for his so called inner city charity" Agent Parker began as he paced the large conference room.._

_"How is it that this man is still on the streets, we already know he is running one of the states largest human trafficing rings" John shook his head in disgust. They had been trying to track down Mitch for months now and it seemed the closer they got to him the further he moved away._

_Mitch Lawrence wasnt a stupid man, he kept his hands clean and for good reason, women were disappearing at an alarming rate and showing up on the black market but they knew that eventually he would slip, the bad guys always did.._

_"You know as well as i do that he hides behind his chartiable events but even this one has us all a little puzzled, look at this and someone tell me who this man is" Agent Parker began as he passed a picture around and the agents in front of him sort of shrugged it off.._

_"Looks like a fucking weasel to me" Steele rolled his eyes.._

_"this man is none other then the late Adam Chandlers son" Parker continued.._

_"as in Chandler enterprise" John said quickly, he had heard of this guy, he was some spoiled brat who inherited his fathers company after he had passed.._

_"the one and only" Parker began.."and lets just say he has been very busy, those of you who read the tabloids would know what i am talking about"_

_"isnt he marrying a rival family...the um...the buchs or anything like that" one of the agents began.._

_"Not just any rival family but Lanviews own Buchanans" Parker said as he stood in front of them.._

_"are you saying that this prick has been extorting money to Mitch" John said in shock.._

_"weve been keeping a close eye on him, it wasnt a secret that the Buchanans and the Chandlers were at odds so when dear old dad passed away and suddenly the Buchanans and the Chandlers were playing nice, well we knew something was up" Parker said as he began to pace again as they all listened intently.."after alot of digging we found something, something huge" he paused for a second.."it would seem as though Mitch as his very own benefactor and it comes in the form of JR Chandler himself"_

_"and the Buchanans are in on it too" Steele said with wide eyes.._

_"as far as we can see, no" Parker said seriously.."but on the computers of both Buchanan enterprise and Chandler enterprise is some very important information and it could be the very thing to bring down Mitch as well as whoever else is involved"_

_"so what do we do, befriend him?" John began, he was already getting antsy, he knew the longer they waited the more women that went missing.._

_"you'll never get close to JR, he is very closed off, paranoid but" parker said with a smile.._

_"we could get close to the girl, the one he is marrying" Steele said as a light blub went off in his head as parker grinned.._

_"exactlly and with her being a fellow AC native it shouldnt be so hard" parker smiled as he pulled out another picture and passed it around, as soon as John saw it, he knew, he wouldnt miss that face anywhere.._

_"isnt that?" Steele said with a puzzled look.._

_"sure as hell is" John said as Parker looked at them.._

_"do you know her, this Natalie girl?" Parker asked in shock.._

_"we both do" Steele answered quickly.."but she's not a Buchanan"_

_"No she's not but close enough, her name is Natalie Balsam and she is the niece of Clint and Victoria Buchanan, and soon to be heir to the Buchanan fortune and if JR has his way she may just end up like his father" parker said seriously as John and Steele looked at him, both of them in shock, what are the odds that natalie balsam could be in the middle of something so serious, it literally was mind blowing.._

_"Im in" John said quickly as Steele looked at him.._

_"how well do you know this girl John, because i cant have emotions getting in the way" parker began as he looked at John.._

_"she was just some girl from highschool, and i dont need to remind you that i never get my emotions involved" John said seriously.._

_"good, then you and steele look over the details, it would seem as though your both about to make a trip to Lanview" Parker said as Steele looked at John and then they both nodded their heads in agreement._

John looked at his watch and put down the paper, he had a night to get ready for and if all went according to plan then he could very likely be heading not only into Chandler enterprise but Buchanan enterprise as well..


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Natalie had gotten through the majority of her editing as she tried to concentrate, it was so hard though considering what was on her mind and it was that damn teenage kiss and the fact that the boy she had kissed back in the day was now a man, a very handsome man at that and she was gonna be hanging out with him tonight, she still couldnt believe it..

The summer of 2004

_"your mom is Roxy right" John had said as they walked.._

_"Oh god dont tell me you have heard about her too" she sighed with embarassment, leave it up to her mother to still be able to embarass her even when she wasnt present at the moment._

_"My dad's a cop" he said with a shake of his head, maybe bringing up her alcoholic mother wasnt such a good idea when trying to talk to her, he thought to himself.._

_"then of course you know who she is" she said with a shake of her head.._

_"yeah well atleast your mom lets you live your life" he began.._

_"if you call getting shit faced and having me take care of her all weekend then yeah" she said sarcastically..The mood got awkwardly quiet between them.._

_"so how about them Yankees" he finally said to change the subject and she looked at him and then laughed, like really laughed and he flushed with embarassment..He really had no idea how to talk to girls.._

_"You know im surprised your even talking to me" natalie said after she finished laughing.._

_"whys that?" he stopped walking now and she stopped too.._

_"I dunno, its just..." she swallowed hard.._

_"Your the most interesting person i know" he said quickly and then he too swallowed hard.._

_"Im interesting?" she said in shock..She found herself to be as plain as they come and quite a bit awkward as well, atleast thats how it felt in school, she was never the cheerleader type, more of a loner really.._

_"i dont mean that in a bad way" he quickly said as she smiled, he actually looked nervous and well that made her relax more.._

Natalie made her way past the front desk where maria sat, she perked up some when she saw natalie.."are you leaving already Miss natalie" she asked with shock..

"yeah i um have some things to take care of" she lied as her eyes landed on the door where John could be seen coming in, apparently it wasnt lost on maria either.."I'll see you tomorrow" she said quickly not wanting to be questioned as to why that man was around again, John stopped at the door as she came to it..

He still couldnt get over how much she had grown up, she looked absolutely gorgeous even in her work clothes that consisted of a form fitting blue suit with a white button down blouse.."work ok?" he asked as she stepped outside and smiled nervously..

"Yep, how about that drink" she just wanted to make small talk, maybe if she did that all night it would be over sooner then later..

"lead the way" he grinned as she got to her car and she stopped when she saw a motorcycle parked next to her..

"You drive that thing?" she said in shock as he grabbed his helmet..

"Maybe i will give you a spin sometime" he said as he put his helmet on and the thought of riding behind him on a motorcycle, god it was exhillirating but for now she got to her car and began to drive..She couldnt believe how much he had grown, i mean he still sort of looked like the John she remembered but even better now plus his confidence level was a bit alarming, he wasnt shy little john anymore and well that in itself was intimidating.

There is something about the sight of a man riding a motorcycle, something so primal, so male, so well hot, she couldnt help but watch him through the rearview mirror as she drove, this was it, she was going to have drinks with him, her stomach began to do sumersaults at the idea and she tried to calm her breathing, it was just a harmless drink, she didnt know why she was getting so worked up about it..

Natalie couldnt wait to grab a drink once they got to Rodi's, it was just a small bar on the outskirts of town, a place she use to frequent when she had first moved to town, now not so much. JR really wasnt the bar type, he enjoyed his cocktails in luxury and she had gotten use to that too, so this was definitely a change for her and surprisingly a nice one, she hadnt realized how much she missed this until now..

"now this is more like it" John said as they entered the small bar and he looked around..

"its definitely less flashy then the club" she said with a nervous laugh..

"well no offense to the other place but this is definitely my kind of bar" he grinned as they both walked up to the bar.

The bartender Mac smiled big as they got up to bar.."somebody pinch me cause i think i may be dreaming" mac began as he looked at Natalie.."I cant even remember the last time i saw you here young lady!"

"Hi Mac" she said with embarassment..

"You know the pleasure is always mine darling" he grinned and then he glanced at John.."whose your friend"

"oh um this is John, he's an old friend from AC" she said with a flushed face..

"well any friend of Natalie's is a friend of mine" Mac smiled politely at him.."what can i get you kids, the first drink is on the house" he grinned big..

"I'll take a beer, whatever you have on tap" John said as natalie swallowed hard..

"I'll do the same" she said as she fidgeted some..

"coming right up" Mac smiled as he began to pour the drinks.."so your a big shot now huh darling, you cant come by and say hi" he joked and she turned even redder..

"yeah i was thinking the same thing but you know with being royalty and all" John smirked..

"Oh i like him" Mac laughed as he handed them beers..

"Not royalty" she said with a smile as she rolled her eyes..

"Pretty darn close to it, and i even got word that your marrying that hot shot Chandler" Mac laughed..

"Oh boy, i should of guessed" natalie laughed..

"You know i still love you darling" Mac laughed.."even if i am the low man on the todem pole"

"Mac! Stop, your making me feel bad" Natalie shook her head..

"you know when i first laid eyes on this young lady i knew a fire cracker when i saw one" Mac said as he looked at John..."i knew that this girl was gonna go places in life"

"well then that makes two of us" John grinned as he sipped his beer..

"Ok ok... enough about me" natalie said with embarassment.."How have you been Mac"

"well besides missing you" he smirked.."Life is good, the bar is coming along, too bad all of those ritsy clubs are popping up everywhere"

"i was thinking the same thing, its a nice place you got here Mac and i would choose it over any of those clubs" John said as he tipped his glass towards Mac..

"Oh now your just buttering me up young man" Mac grinned.."You know natalie here use to come by alot, do you see that pool table over there" he pointed as John looked..

"Oh god, not the pool table stories" Natalie blushed even more as she sipped her beer..

"Oh you had to know it was coming darling" mac smirked.."she literally beat every poor soul in here one night, it was one for the record books, if only i knew we had a pool shark among us" he laughed..

"Oh really?" john raised an eyebrow..

"Its not hard to beat a bunch of drunk guys" Natalie said quickly..

"Oh dont be modest" mac smiled and then looked at John.."she is one hell of a player, dont under estimate this one"

"I'll keep that in mind" John smiled..

"well you two kids have fun, i should probably get back to work" Mac smiled as he walked off..

"he's a cool guy" John said honestly..

"mac is the best and he's right, i was here alot" she said as she sipped her beer..

"why did you stop coming" John asked as they both leaned against the bar..

"I dunno" she shrugged her shoulders..

"Im assuming that Chandler doesnt dig places like this" John said with a raised eyebrow..

"he just...he just has different tastes thats all" Natalie began..

"expensive ones" John said as he glanced at the rock on her finger again and she nervously fidgeted.."How did it happen?" he asked..

Natalie sipped her drink.."how did what happen?"

"How did you end up here, i mean one day you were in AC and the next your gone" John began and she blinked in shock..

"I honestly didnt think you would notice" she said honestly..

"Not notice? I mean it wasnt a secret that i had a huge crush on you back then" he began and she swallowed hard now as she glanced at her beer..

"it was kind of hard to tell with you running from me every chance you got" she said as she took a huge sip..

"Yeah um" he said nervously now as he ran a hand through his hair.."awkward times remember, but i dont really remember you trying to talk to me" he began..

"well cause you were always running off" she said as the room began to get hot.."hey how about some music, i wonder if Mac updated the jukebox" she wanted to desperately change the subject as she began to walk over to the music box, John followed her..

Natalie got to the juke box and flipped through a bunch of songs.."I hope i didnt make you upset back then" John began as she tried to act nonchalant..

"we were like 16, its no biggie" she said as she stared at the box in front of her..

"yeah but still" John began.."to be honest it wasnt just you, i um..lets just say that i didnt know how to act around women"

"its fine really, were all grown up now" she said quickly as she kept her eyes on the music in front of her..

"You know i would of done things differently" his words caught her off guard as she looked at him now.."You know, i wouldnt of run so much, especially after" he began and her eyes got wide and she quickly looked back at the juke box..

"Oh my god i love this song" she quickly used the music as a distraction, she honestly didnt want to rehash that kiss again..The music began to play loud as she sipped her beer and he did too.."so how do you like being a cop" she quickly changed the subject as they stood by the juke box..

"it's alright, my old man use to be a cop, so it only made sense" John began as she nodded..

"is he retired now?"she asked..

"No..he passed away a few years ago" he said as he took a big sip and she swallowed hard, it wasnt the answer she was expecting..

"Im uh...im sorry to hear that" she said as she sipped her beer..

"its been quite a few years" his voice trailed some and he shook it off.."is your mom in town too?" he asked..

"yeah Roxy came down a few years ago, she actually owns a small motel across town" she said as she fidgeted with her cup..

"wow, well good for her" he said as they both stood there awkwardly.."and you had a brother, right?"

"yeah rex is here too" she said as she looked every where but at him, she suddenly felt a bit panicky, as if someone would see her there and it would be in the tabloids in the morning..She began to walk over to a booth as he followed..

"what did he end up doing with his life, working at the paper too?" he asked..

"Oh god no" she laughed as she took a seat and he followed.."Rex just kind of does his own thing right now"

"sounds intriguing" he raised an eyebrow..

"More like probably illegal" she laughed as she shook her head..

"well good thing i am off duty" he smirked and she smiled a little too.."so you uh excited for the big day"..It took her a minute to realize what he was asking and she quickly looked away from him..

"sure" she drank back her beer quick, he was surprised at her reluctancy, she almost seemed upset about the marriage happening and well that intrigued him even more..

"its a big step to get married, even more so when your fiancee is CEO and President of a rival company" he said quickly as she blinked a bit in shock..

"so you do read the papers" she said quickly..

"ah you know i pick them up when i can, i was kind of surprised to see that stuff about rival companies" he began to pry a bit..

"you know you cant always believe what you see in the paper" she said dryly..

"Your the editor of one" he challenged her..

"my point exactlly" she laughed a little.."Chandler enterprise wasnt at odds with my uncles company, it was more of the late adam chandlers doings" she shrugged her shoulders, she hated talking about all this business crap, half the time when JR would talk about it she would just pacify him with nods of her head, honestly none of it made since to her..

"yeah but its sort of a big deal with two huge companies coming together" he continued to drink his beer.."before we know it there will be one mega company that runs the world" he said with a dry laugh..

"you know you could be onto something here" she laughed..

"hey im just saying what i read" he smiled..

"again with the papers" she rolled her eyes playfully..

"sorry i cant help it but enough about that" he leaned on the table..

"so are you still living in AC?" she tried to keep the topic light..

"couldnt think of a better place to live" he said and then he looked around.."no offense this place seems alright" he shrugged..

"lanview aint so bad, i guess i just got tired of the big city" she said honestly..

"yeah AC can do that to you" he nodded his head.."its changed alot though, do you remember Paul's pizza?" he asked and she smiled..

"how could i forget, they had the best pizza ever" she said honestly..

"yeah well old pete retired and then sold the place" he began..

"No way, i always thought he would work there until he died" she shook her head..

"Same here but now its some clothing shop" he sipped his beer..

"wow, what about Arnold's bar, is that still there?" she asked as she continued to drink..Talking about AC was making her miss the place, more then she thought was possible.

"Yep Arny is still tending to the bar, now he may just stay there until he dies" John laughed..

"well its good to hear some things havent changed" she smiled..

"You havent" he began.."I mean, not really anyways"

"why would i" she asked with confusion..

"Oh i dunno, maybe the fact that your related to the Buchanans" he said with a shake of his head..

"yeah its um kind of different then when i was in AC, thats for sure" she said honestly..

"yeah but you seem to have everything you want and thats all that matters in this world, right" he said as she faked a smile.."You know what, enough of this small talk, i say you show me just how good of a pool player you are" he raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the table..

"Oh i dont play anymore" she shook her head, she couldnt remember the last time she played..

"Bullshit" he laughed.."One game, arent you curious to see if you still got it" he smirked..

"oh is that a jab" she stood now..

"You up for a little challenge" he stood too..

"trust me it wont be a challenge" she laughed sarcastically..

"Oh i will let you know that i have some skills" he said as they began to walk over to the empty table..

"skills?" she laughed and then he did too, she was actually enjoying this, hanging out with him like this, it was nice..

"Oh dont knock it til you see Red" he smirked..

"You know that no one has called me that in years" she laughed..

"Oh i forgot your highness" he laughed..

"Oh just for that i am not gonna be easy on you" she laughed..

"bring it on Red, bring it on" he smiled.

Natalie was a bit surprised at how well he played, at first she was just fucking around but he was good, seriously good and soon they were in a heated game with their table surrounded by the small group of people in the bar.

They literally were neck and neck as bystanders cheered on, it was intimidating to say the least. She lined up her next shot, it was literally do or die time and she felt the sweat beginning to mist her body as she eyed the eight ball, if she missed this then she knew for sure it was over..

John was impressed by her, Mac definitely wasnt lying. He couldnt remember the last time he had such a challenge playing pool, hell even with Steele he could kick his ass swiftly without breaking a sweat but now it was something else, not to mention the sight of seeing her stretched over the pool table, her perfect ass in the air, dayum she was one hot girl, even more so now when she was concentrating so hard..

"come on Nat, show him who is boss" mac cheered her on from the sidelines..

"hey i thought you were on my side" John said to the man..

"sorry but she has you beat" mac laughed as John shook his head.

She stared at the table and then glanced up at John, he was staring at the table too but then he looked up at her and she quickly made her shot and then squeezed her eyes shut, it wasnt until she heard the loud cheers that she knew she had done it..

"thats my girl!" Mac said as he hugged her and John stood there with an astonished look on his face..

"sorry" natalie laughed as she looked at John and he couldnt help but laugh too, she was just too darn cute..

"You got me, you really got me" he said as he walked over and put his hand out to her.."good game Red"

"it feels pretty darn good to win" she said with a smirk as they shook hands but in that moment something happened, it was fleeting but there, like an electrical charge..

Quickly she let go of him.."so now what, another drink?" he smirked..

Natalie nervously fidgeted and then looked at her watch.."You know its actually getting kind of late" she began..

"Just one more drink" he said with a smile.."I mean you did kick my ass back there"

Natalie contemplated it for a moment.."Ok, fine...one more drink" she said and then he was walking up to the bar as she watched him, she would have one more drink and then head home, just one more..

One hour ,3 shots and 3 more beers later...

"Oh my god there is no way" she laughed as she sipped her beer, to say she was feeling drunk would be an understatement.."How could you of not seen that it was a dude" she continued to laugh..

"trust me the dude didnt have an adams apple" he laughed.."but he/she definitely was packing something"

"Oh my god that is priceless, the look on your face had to be hysterical" she continued to laugh..

"Im glad you find entertainment in my misery" he laughed as he shook his head.."Now its your turn, come on what is the most embarassing thing to happen to you"

"Um" she said as she got quiet and she couldnt help but remember the kiss from years ago, that was not only embarassing but mortifying as well.."I guess i really dont have anything" she lied as she continued to sip her drink..

"and your lying, i saw that look, what is it, come on, fair is fair" he slurred his words as did she..

"Really its nothing" she said as she went to stand and she swayed some as he caught her arm..He was so close, like literally his face was right in front of hers and she swallowed hard.."fine" she said a bit breathlessly.."when we were kids and on the beach that day, i... i um...i kissed you and you ran off afterwards" she said quietly as he held onto her arm..

"that was more embarassing for me" he said low as he continued to hold onto her arm..

"I dont see how that is possible" she tried to laugh it off as she stood there..

"I was a kid, a nervous one at that" he said honestly.."if i had a chance for a do over" he said as he mouth came dangerously close to hers..

"somethings you cant do over" she said as her mouth moved towards his..

The sound of a loud voice snapped her head up.."Natalie" JR yelled out..."what the hell are you doing" he yelled as he came over and Natalie and John quickly pulled apart, even in her drunken state she knew this was bad, very very bad...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

It took her a minute to assess the situation, she was literally inches from Johns lips and the sound of JR's loud tone was reverberating through her body as she jumped back and looked into his angry brown eyes as he came over to them..

"JR" she said quickly as she closed in the distance..

"what the hell are you doing and who the hell is that" JR was furious as he stood there glaring at John..

"I um...I" she tried to find the right words but John spoke up before she could..

"JR Chandler, right?" he said as he put his hand out.."John McBain, an old friend of Natalie's" he really didnt like this guy and looking at the pissed look on his face it only made it sink in more..

JR looked at his hand with disgust and then he looked at Natalie.."what are you doing here" he spoke to her like a child..

"I um, i said i was going out with an old friend" she began to ramble as her words slurred..

"are you drunk?" he said in shock as he looked at her and then he brought his attention back to John.."what the hell are you doing buddy" he snapped at John..

"Hey i was just out with an old friend" John began as Natalie's stomach began to feel queesy and she felt the room begin to spin..

"sure you are" JR said sarcastically.."more like taking advantage" he stepped closer to John..

"You really dont want to do that" John stood his ground, he may be shit faced but he could still kick this guys ass if he had too..

"Oh i think i do" JR stepped closer..

"alright, enough is enough" Mac yelled as he came over and they looked at him..He looked at them all and then at Natalie who looked white as a ghost.."darling you ok" he asked as the guys finally looked at her..Natalie didnt say anything as she held her mouth and then darted for the bathroom.

"we are far from finished" JR warned John as he stormed past him and towards the bathroom..

"You should go kid" Mac said to John.."she will be ok"

John contemplated it for a moment, he honestly didnt want to leave her and definitely not with that asshole she called her fiancee but he also knew that by staying he would be jeopardizing the case and they had worked to long and hard for this so with a heavy breath he turned and headed for the door, dialing his phone as he did so.

It was mid afternoon when natalie finally awoke to the sun blaring in the room, her head was aching something awful and for a moment she didnt know what the hell had happened but that was until she heard JR's loud angry voice and it all seem to come spiriling back at her..

"I said i dont give a shit, i want to know who the hell he is and why he is in town" he yelled to some poor sap on the phone as Natalie sat up now and blinked through squinted eyes to see JR pacing the room.."I have to go, keep me updated" he said as he hung up and looked at her, she could tell by the look on his face that he was beyond livid.."do i even need to tell you how incredibly reckless and stupid that was!" he snapped as she quickly laid back down and pulled the covers over her head, she had a head ache as it was and he was only making it worse.."I have a company to run and not to mention if someone had saw you there and out with some guy, the tabloids would of had a field day" he yelled as he came over and she kept her head hidden.

"im sorry ok, can we do this later, my head is killing me" she finally said..

"were doing this right now" JR pulled the blankets off of her as she sat straight up..

"I was just out ok, it wasnt a big deal!" she snapped at him, her head ache fueling her anger..

"You were drunk!" he yelled at her..

"its not like it is a crime JR, god!" she huffed as she got up now and the room spun some more, her eyes landed on her clock and she blinked in shock.."oh my god im late for work" she said in shock, she had never been late for work in her life..

"being late for work is the least of your problems, who the hell was he Natalie" he snapped at her..

"i already told you he is a friend, thats all" she tried to move past him but he blocked her way.." i have to get to work" she yelled..

"You werent worried about that last night when you were hanging all over that guy" he said angrily..

"I wasnt hanging" she began as images of the almost kiss crossed her mind and she stiffened for a moment.."im not doing this with you right now" she walked past him now..

"so is this what you do when im gone all the time, you just throw yourself at any random guy acting like a damn slut" he snapped and she stopped in her tracks and spun to face him..

"I will give you that one only cause i know your mad and because i am not arguing with you over this, he is a friend, end of story, now if you dont mind i have a paper to go to" she snapped back equally as mad as she stormed her way into the bathroom and slammed the door shut..

John awoke to a loud pounding on his door as he groaned, for a moment he thought he was dreaming but the pounding continued.."come on you lazy ass, get up" Steele yelled from the other side of the door as John groaned.."dont make me break this door down" he continued as John now huffed as he sat straight up, he glanced at his watch and he had to blink in shock as he saw the time, it was nearly 1 pm..

"shit" he said as he quickly got out of the bed, he couldnt believe he had over slept..

"I mean it, im gonna count to one" Steele began as John swung the door open in a hurry and Steele took a look at him.."You look like shit man"

"can you keep your voice down" John groaned as he dragged his hung over body to the couch and sat on it, holding his head in his hands..

"You are so lucky you didnt blow the entire case open last night, what the hell were you thinking" Steele began with an irritated tone..

"seriously Steele, right now is not the time" John said as he kept his head in his hands..

"we were suppose to get close to her to gain access into the company not get her crazed fiancee on the war path" Steele continued..

"dont worry about him, i got this under control" John stood now on unsteady feet..

"Yeah it looks that way" steele rolled his eyes.."do you know how much recon i had to do this morning, that little bastard is sniffing around now" Steele shook his head..

"You know he's not going to find out anything" John ran a hand through his head and then he walked across the room.."I need coffee" he groaned.

"You need to shower and get dressed" steele said dryly as John looked at him.."Just hurry up, we have to try and salvage his before Parker has both of our asses in a vice" steele made his way to the door..

"coffee" John said again..

"Jesus alright pre madonna i will get you some damn coffee but get your ass in the shower you look like shit" Steele said as he left and john stood there, images of the night before flashing before his eyes, how could he of been so stupid, he may just of destroyed everything they worked so hard for and with that he went into the shower cause he had to somehow fix this and quick.

Natalie was surprised to see that JR was gone when she got out of the shower, she was assuming they were gonna have round two before she headed to work but apparently not. That didnt make her feel any better though cause besides the pounding headache she had, she also felt like shit, what had happened last night, why had she let it get that far and most importantly why couldnt she stop thinking about him now..

Grabbing her phone she saw a few missed calls from Gigi , followed by frantic texts asking where she was and if she was ok, she groaned as she put her phone down, she wondered how many people knew about last night but she couldnt think about it long cause it was getting later by the minute and she had to get to work, so she quickly finished getting ready..

John and Steele had headed over to a small diner to eat, John was lost in thought as they waited for their food.."so are you going to tell me what the hell happened last night?" steele finally asked as John looked up at him..

"Nothing, it was fine until he showed up" John said quickly as he sipped his coffee, his mind going back to her and to that almost kiss..

"yeah well the plan wasnt to piss him off, what exactlly did he walk in on" steele raised an eyebrow..

John looked at him and shook his head.."Nothing" he said with annoyance..

"Oh i seriously doubt that" steele said dryly..

"damn it man can we just eat" john snapped defensively..

"Holy shit you kissed her didnt you" steele said a bit loud as John snapped his head at him..

"could you keep your fucking voice down" he snapped.."and no, we didnt" John said low this time as he continued to drink his coffee, the waitress came over with their food and John began to dig in as steele watched him..

"we cant afford for this to get messed up" steele warned him..John glanced up at him and shot him a nasty look but continued to eat, he certainly didnt need steele telling him how to do his job, he knew he had fucked up and he knew he had to fix it and fast.

Natalie sat behind her desk and stared at the papers strewn all about. Her mind was everywhere but in that office, JR was pissed at her and they were suppose to be getting married in less then four weeks and her mind was on John, why had she even agreed to hang out with him, maybe she was just a glutten for punishment. The sound of her door opening made her jump, she was half expecting to see JR come walking through but instead she saw her brother Rex as Maria chased after him yelling..

"Oh settle down maria" Rex said sarcastically as he came into the room and maria began apologizing..

"its fine maria" natalie sighed..

"why dont you go make yourself useful sweetheart and get me a soda" Rex began as maria glared at him..

"rex cut it out" natalie snapped as he looked at her.."just hold my calls Maria" natalie said as Maria cursed under her breath at Rex and then left as he watched her..

"that chick needs to cut back on the red bulls" he said sarcastically...

"she is just doing her job rex, oh by the way speaking of jobs" Natalie began dryly as rex flopped into one of the chairs..

"Oh give me a break already" he huffed.."You know its hard out there trying to find a job, not everyone is as lucky as you" he said sarcastically..

"Might i remind you that i worked hard for this position, you should try it sometime rex" she sighed..

"yeah well it didnt hurt that Uncle Warbucks favors you" he shook his head..

"You know if you really showed some initative rex then maybe uncle clint would help you out" she said honestly.

"theres only room for one ass kisser in this family" he laugh and she rolled her eyes..

"You know im really busy Rex" she looked back at her desk and sighed..

"well your gonna give me a complex, ever since you and the prince hooked up" Rex said sarcastically..

"He's not a prince Rex, and honestly if you would just give him a chance, i mean i am marrying him in a few weeks" she began..

Now he rolled his eyes.."Yeah dont remind me"

"seriously rex what is your problem with him, JR is a good man" Natalie began even as the guilt crept up on her..

"blah blah blah" he said as he got up and began to pace..

"whatever" she rolled her eyes at him..

"Hey anyways your the one who has to share a bed with him, as creepy as that thought is, he is like a little mini adam chandler" he cringed..

"did you really just come by to insult my fiancee" she finally snapped as he shook his head..

"come on nat, i mean seriously since when are you like royalty" he walked around the room and she sighed..

"Oh god here we go again" she huffed.."I never said i was royalty rex, you know aunt vicki and uncle clint are as much your family as mine"

"oh please we both know they cant stand me, hell dear old clint barely looks in my direction" he said sarcastically..

"Yeah well i dont honestly see you trying to do anything to make that better" she said honestly..

"again might i add, im not an ass kisser" he laughed..

"You know what Rex, im not doing this with you, what do you want" she said dryly as she put her hands on her hips.

Before Rex could answer the door swung open and they both looked as their Uncle Clint walked in.."we need to talk" he said sternly to natalie and she swallowed hard, it was rare that she saw her uncle look like that, he seemed mad and then it hit her, he knew, somehow he knew..

"I'll just get with you later" Rex said to her and then looked at Clint and rolled his eyes.."your highness" he said sarcastically..

"Im assuming you havent found a job" clint said condescendly towards him.

"shouldnt you be out somewhere stealing candy from a baby" Rex said with a roll of his eyes..

"You disrespectful little" Clint began through gritted teeth..

"save it old man, later sis" Rex said as he left, slamming the door behind him as Clint shook his head..

"i dont even know why you waste your time with him" Clint said angrily..

"well he is my brother for starters and he isnt so bad Uncle Clint" she began honestly..

"you know what forget about him" he shook his head as he looked at her.."i have more important things to discuss with you"

"if it is about this morning, i am so sorry i over slept, i dont know what got into me" she lied as she swallowed hard..

"You know natalie, i always saw something in you" he said as he walked over to her.."I looked at you as if you were my own daughter even if you were raised by that disgrace of a mother" he began and she kept her mouth shut, it wasnt a shocker that Clint had some serious issues with his sister Roxy, she had been the black sheep of the family for as long as Natalie could remember. Granted Roxy never gave him a reason to think well of her, honestly all she had been was an embarassment but natalie knew that even though Roxy had a hard time finding her place in this world, well she had tried the best she could and it was hard especially coming from a wealthy family that had basically disowned her many years ago.

"i know Uncle clint and i appreciate everything you have done for me" she said honestly..

"You know your mother has lived her life" he began as he shook his head.."she has spent years lying to people and stealing to get her way" he continued and natalie swallowed hard again.."and the one thing i dont like in this world is liars" he stared right at her.."so do you want to tell me again why you showed up at 1pm?"

Natalie honestly didnt know what to say, she felt like her back was against the wall, she couldnt find the words as she stood there..

"dont make me second guess my decision to put you in charge of this paper Natalie" he said seriously.."you are marrying JR Chandler, you have finally found your place in this family" he said as he came closer to her.."i accepted you into my life, i gave you things only people dream of, do not let me down"

"I wont" she said quietly as she stood there like a child scorned..

"You dont want to end up like your mother, do you" he said as she stood there not speaking.."stay away from that guy, he will be your downfall" he said as his phone began to ring.." I have to get this" he said as he walked closer to her and hugged her.."dont let me down" he said and then he left quickly as she stood there, she honestly was speechless..

It was hard trying to work after her uncle had come by, she truly felt like crap and to make matters worse JR hadnt answered any of her calls or her texts, she knew that she had to fix this somehow, even though she had no idea how to do that. By nearly 6 pm she had grabbed her purse, she only hoped JR was at home so she could make this all better. She said a goodbye to maria as she walked outside but she was shocked to see that someone was already out there waiting for her by his motorcycle, it was John and she swallowed hard as she stood still for a moment and then he walked over..

"I really have to get home" she said as he got close, the last thing she needed was another fall out with JR..

"Natalie just wait a second" he said as he walked over to her and she kept walking to her car..

"i dont have time, i need to get home" she said as she fumbled with her car keys and they dropped onto the ground, as she reached down to get them he had gotten to them first as they got eye to eye..For a moment she just looked at him, like really looked at him, he looked as worn out as she felt..

"here" he said as he handed her the keys and their hands made contact for longer than necessary..

"what are you doing here" her voice came out quiet and weak as she stood there..

"I needed to see you" his voice was hoarse as he spoke and then he cleared his throat..

"i cant do this" she said quickly as she turned from him and put the key in her car door..

"im sorry about last night" he said as she kept her back towards him.."I shouldnt of...i...i crossed the line and im truly sorry" he said apologetically.."its just that seeing you again" he began.."its just brought back memories"

"some memories are better left forgotten" she said quietly as she opened her car door.."Please dont contact me again" she said as she got into her car and he stood there a bit in shock, this definitely didnt go the way he had thought it would..

"natalie" he said almost pleading, he almost didnt even recognize his own voice..

She looked at him now.."it was nice running into you and all but id appreciate if you just" she swallowed hard as she looked at him..."goodbye John" she finished as she closed her car door and started up her car as he backed up some and then he watched as she drove off..

The sound of his phone ringing snapped him from his staring as she pulled out of the parking lot..He sighed as he looked at his phone and then he answered it.."Yeah, what is it" he said with annoyance..

"wow someone is in a mood" a female voice said sarcastically..

"evangeline im in the middle of something right now" he lied as he stood there..

"well this is important, theres been a break in the case" she began..

"go on" he said as he got onto his bike..

"where are you? This is better in person" she said quickly..

"Im not in AC Evangeline" he sighed..

"I know that, im heading into lanview as we speak" her words caught him off guard..

"Your what? Why? Did parker put you up to this" he began to get annoyed..

"before you get all wound up let me explain" she sighed..

"Your not on the case Evangeline, now i will ask again, did parker put you up to this" he asked a bit more sternly..

"i came to do damage control ok"

"son of a bitch, i told Parker i had this, god damn it" he said with annoyance..

"can you just relax for a moment and let me talk" she huffed..

"parker knows that the more hands that get into this, the messier it becomes" he snapped..

"you nearly blew it last night John" she finally snapped back.."a little appreciation would be nice"

"so just like that your on the case, thats just fucking perfect" he wanted to throw his phone, he hated when parker did shit like this, he acted as though John couldnt take care of his own crap, it infuriated him..

"Just tell me where you are so we can talk" she asked again..

"You know what, why dont you call your boy Parker and ask him since he seems to know every fucking thing that is going on" he snapped as he hung up, right now he knew what he needed and that consisted of a drink and a strong one at that.

Natalie got home in record time but it didnt help her nerves which were absolutely shot, especially after the day she had, she pulled up to the house her and JR had and she saw his car in the driveway, as much as she wanted to see him, to talk to him, to somehow fix this she felt even worse knowing he was home but she forced herself to get out of the car as she headed up to the massive estate she called home..

As she got to the door, it opened before she could reach for it and much to her surprise JR stood there. As soon as she opened her mouth to say something to him, anything, he surprisingly pulled her against him, his mouth crashing into hers in a passionate and yet surprising say she was shocked would of been an understatement and slowly he pulled back as she stood there stunned and speechless..

"im sorry" he said quietly as he held her against him, she was blown away by his apology, he never apologizes for anything, even if he is wrong.."i havent been around much, i havent been a good fiancee but im gonna make that change, starting right here and right now, i love you natalie, please tell me you forgive me" she honestly didnt know what to say, this was a side of him she had never seen and she really didnt know what to think at this very moment.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Natalie rolled over on the bed, breathing heavy as was JR. It wasnt often that they had an evening romp like this, it was unexpected but definitely not a bad thing. She decided not to question why and just enjoy the moment as they both laid there staring at the ceiling..

"why dont we order out tonight" he finally said as he looked at her..

"that sounds wonderful, i am starved" she smiled some as he got out of the bed and began to get dressed as she watched him, he was a beautiful man and lately she didnt ever have the time to just admire him, so she took the opportunity to just watch him as he finally looked at her and smiled, she definitely liked this carefree side of him, it reminded her of when they first got together..

"Like what you see?" he grinned and she smiled as she leaned up on her side..

"yes" she smiled..

"so do i" he grinned as he leaned down and kissed her softly and then pulled back.."how about the Carlottas diner" his words surprised her..

"really? I thought you didnt like the food" she said in shock, Carlottas had been a favorite of hers since she got to Lanview but she rarely ate there anymore, mainly cause JR hated the whole small mom and pop diner thing..

"they arent so bad, and they do have burgers, right?" he grinned..

"yeah i think they could manage a burger for you" natalie smiled as she sat up now, he was in a really really good mood..

"good, then its settled" he continued to get dressed..

"I'll go pick it up" she said as she too got up and began to get dressed..

"Ok, i have just a few phone calls to make" he began.."and then maybe we can watch a movie on tv"

Natalie blinked in shock, JR Chandler watching tv, now that was something she never saw and again she wasnt going to complain.."alright then" she said as she began to get dressed, maybe this was his idea of changing, it wasnt bad at all..

John sat at the bar drinking back yet another shot, he was pissed, upset and all around feeling like shit. He had let things get out of hand and not only did he get natalie angry and the man in question but now Evangeline was involved, it definitely wasnt turning out to be his kind of day.

"do you wanna talk son?" Mac asked as he came back over to John and he just nodded his head no as he looked at his empty shot glass...

"another drink please Mac" he said as the older man nodded his head and began to pour one for him..

"You know son, life doesnt always turn out the way you want it to, but wallowing in self pity wont help a thing" Mac said as he handed him a shot..

"Im good at wallowing" John said as he took back another shot, a female voice caught his attention as he groaned and shook his head..

"You know that was great John, i had to drive all over this god forsaken town just to find you" Evangeline said with annoyance..

"yeah well no one said you had to come look for me" he said as he kept his back turned to her and ordered another shot as mac looked at the woman coming over..

"Oh thats great so you are just sitting here getting shit faced, thats exactlly what caused" she began as he looked at her now..

"Your not my mother Evangeline and im not in the mood" he said dryly as he looked back at another full glass..

"well thank god for that, what the hell are you doing John" she huffed as he reached for another shot but she grabbed it before he could..

"hey..give that back" he snapped at her..

"No" she said as she backed up some.."why are you doing this"

"last time i checked it was still legal to drink, now give it" he reached for his drink and nearly fell off of his chair as she backed up more..

"Damn it John, look at you" she huffed as she quickly downed the shot and shivered as it went down..

"Bitch" he groaned at her and then looked back at the bar but mac was helping another customer..

"Im not just gonna sit here and watch you destroy everything" she snapped as she came closer to him now..

"then just sit here and shut the hell up and while your at it have a few drinks" he waved for Mac who nodded back as he helped another customer.."what the hell do you have to do around here to get a drink" he began to get loud..

"alright that is it, were going" she grabbed his arm as he shot her a look..

"let go of me" he warned her..

"No,...were leaving before you jeopardize anything else" she said sternly..

"Oh look at you all big and powerful, must feel good to be Parkers new bitch" he laughed..

"Your drunk and being an ass and do i have to remind you that were still on a case" she said quietly..

"were?" he laughed.."Now that is funny cause last time i check i didnt ask you for any help" he yelled some now as a few patrons looked at him.."what?!" he snapped at them..

"You are going to destroy everything John" she got close to him.."is that it, you just dont care anymore"

"Just...just go away" he yanked his arm back..

"Like hell i am" she grabbed his arm again and this time he jumped up and nearly pushed her down as she gasped in shock..

"i think you had enough to drink" mac suddenly appeared in front of him.."call it a night kid"

"You know what, fuck this place" John snapped at the man and then he looked at Evangeline.."and fuck you" he said as he yanked his arm back again and began to stumble outside as Evangeline followed after him..He began to walk to his bike, more like stumble as she ran after him..

"You are not driving John" she yelled as he kept walking..

"why are you still fucking here, damn it Evangeline just go the fuck away" he said as he neared his bike..

"No god damn it!" she yelled as she got in front of him..

"you know i never hit a woman before but your damn close" he said through gritted teeth..

"go ahead then" he challenged him..

He rolled his eyes and laughed.."god your such an uptight bitch, maybe you should go back in and loosen up a bit"

"Your unbelievable John, you hit one snag in the road" she began as he snapped around..

"You dont know shit about me, nothing" he pointed his finger at her..

"I know that your about to make another huge mistake that will not only destroy this case but your career and for what, because some highschool fling wont acknowledge you" she snapped at him..

Now he grabbed her shirt and yanked her close as her eyes got wide.."dont fucking try and tell me how i feel" he snapped at her..The sound of a car pulling up made them both turn and within seconds he watched as natalie jumped out..

"what the hell are you doing John" she yelled in shock as she witnessed him seriously manhandling this woman.

She had been on her way to the diner, her thoughts were on how strange JR was acting, strange but good and then out of no where she went to go past Rodi's and she saw him, John. But he wasnt alone and he had some girl by the collar of her dress shirt, she couldnt help herself but pull over, it honestly looked like he was about to hit this woman..

John let go of Evangeline as he swayed some and looked at natalie.."what are you doing" she said again as the woman fixed her shirt..

"its fine, he just had a bit too much to drink" the woman said to her and natalie looked at her now, she had never seen this woman before in her life.

"Natalie" John said quietly as he looked at her, he honestly thought he was dreaming, it felt like he dreaming..

"Im Evelyn, you must be Natalie, ive heard alot about you" Evangeline said as she put her hand out.."Im a friend of Johns"

"Ok" natalie said with confusion as she shook this womans hand. She was dressed nice in a two piece pants suit and Natalie couldnt help but wonder how good of friends were they..

"You came back" John continued as he stumbled over to her.."I knew you would" he slurred his words some and natalie swallowed hard..

"John your drunk" she began and then she looked at his friend.."he's not driving is he" she asked with concern..

"of course not, he is just messing around, you know John, always gotta mess around" the woman said nervously as John walked right up to natalie...

"I fucked up" he began drunkenly as he went to touch Natalie's face and she stood there frozen..

"alright John, time to sleep it off" Evangeline said quickly as she walked next to him but he ignored her..

"John i think you need to sleep it off" Natalie began as she looked at him and then this girl, she hated that jealously was creeping through her now..

"I need you" he said softly as he touched her face now..

"alright John that is enough" Evangeline said a bit sterner now, her voice held warning, it made Natalie uncomfortable, who the hell was this woman to him?

"Im good, you can leave, i got what i need" he said as he touched natalie's face..

"John" Evangeline said warningly..

"what part of leave do you not understand " he snapped at her as natalie stood there in shock..

"You are not driving that bike back to the motel" Evangeline warned..

"Natalie will bring me back, wont you natalie" he said as he looked at her..

"i um" she began to stutter.."Listen i " she began as she thought back to JR, he would be expecting her home soon..

"Please, just" John began..

"i can just bring you back" Evangeline said quickly..

"why are you still here, just go already" he snapped at her..

"you know what, im not getting paid for this shit" evangeline huffed as she spun from them.."you deal with this shit on your own John and when it backfires dont come crawling back to me" she snapped at him and then headed to her car..

"what is she talking about" natalie said with confusion..

"dont pay attention to her" John began as he looked back at Evangeline.."she doesnt know when to butt out of things that arent her business!" he called out to her and instead of saying anything back she flipped him the bird and he looked back at natalie.."can you just bring me back to the motel" he said softly now..

"fine... which one is it" she finally gave in with a sigh..

"its called the um...the um, the angel something" he began and she sighed deep, of course it would be that motel, the same one her mother was currently running.."do you know of it?"

"yeah" she shook her head.."my mother runs it" she said as she walked back to her car..

"Your mother, as in Roxy?" he said as he stumbled towards her car..

"the one and only" she said sarcastically as she got in and so did he..

"wow, small world" he smirked..

"yeah, your telling me" she said as they both closed the car doors and he looked at her..

"thank you, natalie" he said honestly..She didnt answer him as she began to drive, she knew that she would have an awful lot of explaining to do to JR and she wasnt looking forward to any of it.

Natalie drove as John stared at the window, she couldnt believe she was driving him to that motel, she would have to make this quick because soon JR would be calling or worse yet she would run into Roxy. She didnt know which one she was more worried about..

Natalie took the opportunity of him being drunk to ask some questions as she drove, she hated that she wanted to know who that woman really was to him and why she was so damn concerned about John..

"so that woman seemed pretty mad back there" she began nonchalantly as he finally looked at her with glossy blue eyes..

"dont let her get under your skin" he said with a slur.

"what is she worried about you messing up" she asked with curiosity..

"Beats me, she is always rambling about something or another" he said with a shake of his head..

"well she seemed really upset" she pushed more..

"thats just the way she is but dont worry about that i will take care of her" he sighed as he looked back out the window and Natalie knew she wasnt going to get anymore information from him..

Seeing the Angel square motel she felt her stomach tense as they pulled into the parking lot.."well were here"

"are you upset with me" he asked quietly..

"Im not upset, im just" she began as her eyes got wide cause standing at the entrance of the motel was Roxy with a cigarette in her hand as she began to wave wildly and jump up and down before she came running over.."oh god" Natalie said under her breath as Roxy began to run over..

"thats your mom?" he said with shock, he had never actually met her in person as a child but he had heard stories of her and when he had gotten to lanview he had met her when he got his room but he had never gotten her name, she was definitely an ecentric woman..

Natalie just shook her head as she opened her car door.."natty...oh natty i knew i recognized your car!" Roxy said with a huge grin as she ran over to the car..

"Hi Mom" she swallowed hard as Roxy damn near smothered her with a hug and kisses..

"Oh baby it has been forever since you have come by to see me" she hugged her tightly as natalie stood there.."Your brother said he had come by to see you today" she continued..

John got out of the car as he watched the two of them interact and then Roxy was bringing her attention to him.."Johnny mac what are you doing!" Roxy said with another grin and then she looked at Natalie as her eyes got wide..

Natalie spoke before Roxy could, she could already see where this was going.."Mom this is an old friend of mine from AC"

"Your looking radiant as always" John smiled at her and she blushed..

"Oh you are such a charmer, isnt he a charmer natty" Roxy laughed.."I cant believe you two know each other"

"yep its amazing" natalie said dryly..

"well dont you two sit out here, come on inside" Roxy said as she grabbed Natalie's hand..

"actually i um have to head back" Natalie began..

"Oh bologna! I have a fresh bottle of scotch inside" she laughed..

"sounds like a plan to me, lead the way Roxy" John grinned as Roxy continued to drag natalie along..

"so what are you two kids doing?" she said as they got to the door..

"well i actually" Natalie began but John cut her off..

"seems like were all going to be drinking that scotch of yours" John smirked..

Roxy beamed as she looked at John.."Oh i like him"

"Mom i really have to go" natalie began..

"I havent seen my daughter for weeks, surely you can spare a minute or two just because my brother has set you up in his lavish company" Roxy began as Natalie sighed.

It wasnt a surprise that Roxy and Clint didnt get along. Sure he may of lended her the money to get the motel but that was mainly to help Natalie...

"you wouldnt stay away from your mother like that would you Johnny Mac" roxy said as she grabbed the bottle, her guilt working into Natalie..

"No Maam" he smiled as Natalie sighed..

"see natty even johnny mac visits his mother" she pouted..

"you know you only get one" he grinned..

"Oh arent you such a cutie" Roxy said as she squeezed him and Natalie rolled her eyes as Roxy began to pour drinks..

"Just stay a little bit" John whispered to her as Natalie glanced at her watch, time was ticking away..

"fine just a few minutes then i really have to go" natalie sighed heavily..

"Yay baby girl" Roxy said as she handed her a glass of scotch..

"actually im not drinking" Natalie began as she handed the cup back..

"Oh like hell your not, just one drink for old times sake" Roxy poured on more guilt..

"its just one drink" John looked at her and Natalie quickly grabbed the cup..

"i say we do a toast" Roxy began as she looked at natalie.."and since my baby is getting married soon we should do it to her and JR"

"great" natalie said with a nervous smile..

"To My Natty and her soon be husband JR, may they live the happiness of a thousand lives" Roxy smiled big as they all clinked glasses, Natalie and John didnt say anything as they stood there and quickly they were all downing their drinks..


End file.
